Planning My Post On The Right To Free Health Care

75 million Americans forego medications due to cost

My main topic is on the right to free health care within the United States. Despite the countless advances in technology and the abundance of health care organizations popping up all over the place, whether they are free standing clinics, hospitals, urgent cares, etc. many people still lack the ability to receive quality health care at an affordable price. This has become a concern throughout the world, but especially a more vocal concern for residents of the United States in the past few years. There has been an increase of rising out-of-pocket health care costs which has led many to even delay seeking treatment for health concerns in worry of the price they may have to pay which is especially concerning and problematic.

History Component

This idea of basic human rights stems further back throughout history. There are rights to which we are entitled, simply by virtue of our humanity. The Enlightenment era valued human rights. This movement stressed the ideas of liberty, fundamental human rights, and equality. In the United States, we do not enjoy the right to health care. Among all the rights to which we are entitled, health care may be the most intersectional and crucial. Historically, this idea of natural rights also came from the philosophy of liberalism which laid at the core of the French Revolution; this view of equality based on liberty. This connects to health care through the universal component. A potential source I can use is the “Declaration of the Rights of a Man”.

Rhetoric Component

My working thesis is "Although free health care is often characterized as an individual responsibility, governments with the means to provide universal health care should treat it no differently than any other basic human right." I plan to use rhetoric within my final blog post by using images that really connect with the readers emotions. Art can play a very influential role in persuasion. I will also use a brief personal anecdote of my own to draw personal connections with the reader. I plan to use other rhetorical devices such as amplification, logos, and pathos.

Personal Component 

I have many personal ties to this policy. I was raised by very humble parents who came from the islands with very little education who struggled to make ends meet for our family of fourteen. We found ourselves in this awkward middle ground in which we were not eligible for Medicaid and yet could not afford private health insurance. Because of this, going to the hospital or the doctors was something we feared not because of the treatment we'd receive but because of the considerable worry of the bills we would have to pay that we could not afford and the prescriptions we could not fill. This is an example of how I will make the post personal to me.
Image Credit: "Prescriptions Galore" by MTSOfan is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0